Saturday, February 18, 2012

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews Now Says That He Is 'Surprised By Content' Of His Own Bill

Huh?! In a complete reversal, the Conservative Cabinet Minister who introduced 'police state' style legislation now says he is surprised by the content of his own Bill.

"Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says he is surprised to learn that a section of the government's online surveillance bill provides for "exceptional circumstances" under which "any police officer" can request customer information from a telecommunications service provider.

In an interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio's The House, Toews said his understanding of the bill is that police can only request information from the ISPs where they are conducting "a specific criminal investigation."

But Section 17 of the 'Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act' outlines "exceptional circumstances" under which "any police officer" can ask an ISP to turn over personal client information.

"I'd certainly like to see an explanation of that," Toews told host Evan Solomon after a week of public backlash against Bill C-30, which would require internet service providers to turn over client information without a warrant."-CBC News

"Mr. Speaker, all I am asking the member to do is actually read the bill and then be honest with Canadians. That is something he is actually incapable of doing. He is either incapable of reading or incapable of being honest."
Minister Vic Toews
House of Commons - Ottawa
Feb 14, 2012